Service-Learning and Work-Based Learning

Service-Learning and Work-Based Learning MassGrad Summary Brief

May 2016

Introduction

This brief shares promising practices, successes, and challenges from the service-learning and work-based learning programs implemented in 12 high schools during the 2011–12 through 2014–15 school years. It is one in a series of five briefs based on evidence-based strategies for dropout prevention utilized by schools that received “Implementation Awards” through the MassGrad initiative.1

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education and implemented by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE), MassGrad’s primary goal was “to substantially increase the number of students who earn a high school diploma.” MassGrad targeted the 133 schools from 76 districts that exceeded the statewide annual dropout rate of 2.9 percent during the 2008–09 school year.

In its MassGrad Implementation award materials, ESE described service-learning as a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning. Through service- learning, students build skills such as entrepreneurship, leadership, and teamwork as they work with adults in the school, community partners, and local businesses to discover needs and problems in their communities and identify and implement solutions to address them. Work-based learning extends learning from the classroom into the workplace, connecting acquired knowledge with future employment. Through summer jobs, internships, or part-time employment, students are linked to opportunities for applied learning, with guidance from school personnel.

The two primary types of programs implemented in MassGrad sites were:

1. Education and training. The schools provided students with opportunities to learn job-related skills (e.g., interviewing, writing a resume, dressing professionally) or introduced students to career and vocational technical education options through workshops, lectures, or semester-long courses. These programs served students in all high school grade levels. 2. Field experiences. Students who completed service-learning projects had identified a community concern, worked in teams to find solutions, and gained academic credit. Learning personal skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and communication was a goal of service-learning projects. Work-based learning supplemented traditional academic coursework with experiences outside the classroom setting. Learning employability skills such as being on time, dressing appropriately, and working with others was a goal of work-based learning experiences. Most students received credit, pay, or both. These programs primarily served high school juniors, seniors, and others of working age. Many sites used both program models, providing education and training that complemented students’ field experiences. The education and training activities were designed as preparation for entering field settings, for students who were already engaged in field experiences, or both. Service-learning and work-based learning programs may require substantial school investment of personnel and transportation resources, as well as innovations in scheduling, curriculum, assessment, staffing, and logistics. A school may choose to award elective credit for service- and work-based learning activities that take place entirely outside of school time, with minimal staff support and student-provided transportation. However, a higher level of commitment is required if schools want to include students who need strong supports and address the many challenges associated with this complex strategy, as described throughout the summary brief. Promising Practices were considered to be at-risk for dropping out, although other programs were made available to The service- and work-based learning programs all students. Many of the programs had common varied widely in terms of strategies, scope, and elements, but they did not comprise a set of participants. Most programs targeted students who prescribed models that were replicated across sites. The practices described in this section were 1 reported as showing promise by program the morning, then an internship support course, personnel and school administrators in on-site and and then were transported to community phone interviews and written reports. placements that typically took place from 12:30– 2:30pm, to coincide with the school schedule. Teaching career skills. Most sites provided Students at another site did their academic career skills education designed to prepare coursework Monday through Thursday from students for service and work-based learning 2:30–8:30pm, and their work-based learning activities outside of the school. Targeted skills activities took place in the morning and early included resume writing, time management, afternoon from Monday through Thursday, and all teamwork, and norms for speaking with co- day on Friday. As further discussed in the workers and supervisors. One site reported spotlight section about Pittsfield, two high schools teaching skills related to online work, including in one district offered work-based learning as a creating and/or managing appropriate social formal graduation pathway, and their students media profiles, managing passwords and online could leave school up to three periods before the information, and writing emails that are end of the day to participate in their work appropriate for professional communications. placements. A final site released seniors for the Another site had students engage in frequent last two hours of the day in order to fulfill a 200- teamwork activities with their peers, because, hour internship commitment. according to the program coordinator, “If they can’t get along with each other, then they won’t be Determining eligibility for work-based able to get along in work.” Some sites contracted learning. Some sites required students to attain with outside vendors or partnered with specified levels of attendance and/or academic community organizations to provide these performance before they were allowed to programs. Some sites also invited local employers participate in work-based learning activities. One into the school to talk with students about site applied the Massachusetts Interscholastic interviewing skills, how to complete job Athletic Association eligibility guidelines to their applications, and what employers look for in internship programs, so that students whose applicants. grades would disqualify them from athletic participation were also disqualified from Exploring student interests. Most sites internships. This school’s enrollment in attempted to help students explore their interests internships was reduced by half when this rule and select work-based learning placements based was established. on each student’s interests. One school reported using the Career Interest Survey to help students School personnel shared perspectives both for and identify their interests as part of the internship against this approach. In favor of these policies, selection process. Another school launched an school personnel argued that students shouldn’t internship program in which students participated participate in optional internships when they are in a course during first trimester that guided them not making adequate progress toward passing core in determining the type of internship that best met academic courses that are required for graduation. their interests. Then the coordinator worked with They also expressed concern that students with students and local organizations to find poor attendance at their internships would damage placements during the next one or two trimesters. relationships with host sites, thereby undermining One student who completed her internship at an the internship program and reducing prospects for animal hospital subsequently obtained a paid future students. On the opposite side of the internship with the same employer, applied to a argument, some school personnel noted that veterinary technician college program, and was internships can make the high school experience accepted. Students also worked in child care more engaging and meaningful to students, facilities, a courthouse, and other locations. thereby motivating them to improve their academic grades and attendance. From that Creating flexible schedules. Scheduling perspective, making internship participation constraints at many schools required creativity contingent on grades and attendance could work and flexibility in order to accommodate work- against a student’s progress toward graduation. based learning activities. Strategies included dismissing students early, starting the school day Using work-based learning as an incentive. One late, having students participate in their work-based learning coordinator used internships placements after school, or devoting a specific to motivate students to do academic work. She day each week to work-based learning activities reported saying to a student, “If I can get you into with no scheduled class meetings. For example, the [internship you really want], can you then, students at one site took three academic courses in during the time you’re in school, really do the 2 work that’s needed to graduate?” She added, “The  A farmer who sent a student into the pig pen student made the commitment and kept his word, and gave her a list of questions to be able to because he was so excited to be able to do what he answer about every pig, because “you have to really loved. He didn’t want to write the know your animals.” paragraph he needed to write for a class, but he  A mentor at a bike repair shop who taught the would do it. School didn’t seem as much like a student a bike repair skill or customer service waste of time.” skill every day of the internship.  A student at a university food services Transitioning from in-district to community department who was given the opportunity to placements. Before students at one site were learn a new skill each day—“one day allowed to pursue a placement in the community, manning the salad bar, one day working the they were first required to successfully complete a breakfast grill making eggs, another day three-week, in-district placement that provided an cutting potatoes. And these guys are really opportunity to demonstrate a positive attitude, going out of their way to make good strong work ethic, strong attendance, and experiences for the students.” responsible behavior. In-district placements Another interviewee described an auto mechanic included supporting elementary school teachers who quickly increased the hours of a highly- and librarians, as well as working in greenhouse motivated student from 2–3 hours per week to run by the school district that sells plants to the three afternoons per week. This mentor also public. Another school had students begin their supported the school in promoting the student’s placements with a time commitment of one day graduation, saying, “We’ll hire you [as a regular per week for two to three hours. Students were employee] once you get your high school then allowed to increase their hours depending on diploma, but not before then.” their performance and the willingness of the Providing socio-emotional support. One community partner. internship coordinator shared how social emotional competencies taught within the school’s Recruiting sites. School personnel used multiple career education curriculum provided support for strategies to recruit work-based learning sites, a reluctant student. The student kept changing her which several schools described as challenging. mind about her internship interests, and the One school reached out to large employers in coordinator sensed that the student was afraid to targeted industries such as health, financial, work in a field setting. The coordinator found an culinary, and communications. Other schools internship for the student that she took her to worked with external partners such as local “kicking and screaming.” They spent some time employer groups or chambers of commerce. Cold processing the experience in light of the social calling local employers and using personal emotional competencies, and the student went on networks were also common strategies. to enjoy the internship. The internship coordinator reported that her knowledge of the student Two schools also reported holding events to enabled her to select an appropriate internship. recruit and engage with prospective and current Multiple sites reported that having an internship internship hosts. One school had invited 60 local coordinator within the school who knew the employers to an upcoming event designed to students well was important for providing socio- promote greater engagement between the emotional support and understanding students’ employers and the school while identifying interests. potential internship sites and mentors. Another school described an upcoming luncheon for Using the Massachusetts Work-Based Learning current site supervisors, community members, and Plan. Several sites used the Massachusetts Work- potential partners. The school planned to Based Learning Plan (WBLP) to organize and showcase the work-based learning program, and manage information from student placements. The students were scheduled to give brief Massachusetts Department of Elementary and presentations about their past internship Secondary Education describes the WBLP as “a experiences. diagnostic, goal-setting, and assessment tool designed to drive learning and productivity on the Providing supportive, structured mentoring. job.”2 One site reported using the online version One interviewee spoke at length about the of the WBLP to have students write a job devotion of internship mentors who have “gone description and rate their own performance, to out of their way to create important learning have supervisors type in tasks for each job and experiences for the students.” These experiences rate students at the beginning and end of the included: placement, and to enable school supervisors to teach mini-lessons on the required job skills. The 3 students researched and wrote their job sections of this summary brief. Additional descriptions with support from the O*NET Online successes and challenges are introduced in this employment website, a career exploration and job section. The most commonly cited reason for analysis resource. student success was when service-learning and work-based learning placements were engaging Service-learning. Although service-learning and and motivating for the students and could connect work-based learning at MassGrad sites overlapped back to their academic coursework. One program to some extent, service-learning activities tended coordinator said, “These are typically kids who to be more time-limited, easier to arrange with haven’t been engaged with academic work, and it community partners, and more oriented towards makes them more excited about coming to groups of students rather than individual students. school.” Regarding a student with chronic One small, alternative school closely integrated absences, one interviewee said, “His attendance service-learning into the school’s academic has improved dramatically—he comes every day learning activities for all students and required —and part of that is that he knows he’s working students to complete service-learning projects toward having an internship.” before they began work-based learning placements. That program, the E3 Academy in Program personnel also reported that students North Adams, is described in a spotlight section. were proud of their work in the school and in the community, they were continuing their work- Service-learning opportunities generally required based learning activities even after fulfilling fewer resources to establish and sustain than school requirements, they felt that their work-based learning opportunities. While experiences had made school more relevant, and significant attention from school personnel was they had improved their grades and attendance. required to establish both types of opportunities, Other benefits included earning money, “avoiding schools that have limited personnel capacity or the ‘summer slide’” by being involved in logistical support (e.g., transportation) may prefer productive summer employment, clarifying their to focus on service-learning opportunities. professional interests, and being hired by their However, schools that have the resources to work sites for longer-term positions. One teacher devote to creating and sustaining effective work- said that for students who have had “really bad based learning opportunities may prefer their role models in the work ethic department,” work- typically longer duration, close association with based learning provides “an opportunity to see student interests, and potentially deeper level of people working actively, to be one of those people learning. working actively, and to find out that you feel good at the end of three hours of doing something Offering CNA training. One school developed a useful.” certified nursing assistant (CNA) program. Throughout the school year, students attended a Work-based learning activities outside of school class taught by a nursing instructor from a local also influenced the culture in the school building. college. During the second half of the year, the Some students began to value the career skills instructor arranged clinical placements at local they had gained, wanting to act professionally in hospitals. Students who completed their clinical school and wanting other students to do the same. placement could take exams to become certified Some of the work-based learning programs CNAs. The program was biology-intensive, and developed positive reputations in the school, some students who had previously failed their leading additional students to request the state science exam required for graduation passed opportunity to participate. In one program, it after taking the CNA course. Many of the graduates returned to speak to current students, participants were 22 or 23 years old and had aged some noting that their internship was the highlight out of the secondary education system, so they of their high school experience. received their diploma through an adult education program. For the many participants who were Compared to the other MassGrad Implementation English language learners and struggled with the Award strategies, service-learning and work-based curriculum’s extensive English-language learning programs at many sites took longer to materials, the school offered a peer tutoring establish and were more often scaled back in program. scope from the school’s original proposal. This was due to a variety of challenges related to Successes and Challenges scheduling, transportation, staffing, administrative support, and developing student placements. The Many successes and challenges are embedded in site that already had an established work-based the promising practices and program spotlight learning program prior to MassGrad appeared to 4 experience less of a mismatch between program included requiring minimum levels of attendance scope and resources, which suggests that in order to keep an internship as well as helping experience with service-learning and work-based students address problems at their placements, learning placements, or strong support in creating adopt more realistic expectations for their a program with a realistic scope, could be a factor placements, terminate placements appropriately, in initial program success. and transition to new ones.

Transportation to internships sites was a common Several sites noted that it was more difficult to challenge. Depending on the school, strategies identify appropriate placements for students who included using public transportation, having were developing basic English language skills. school personnel transport students, having One site was working with community partners to students or parents take responsibility for place English language learners at sites where transportation, or hiring a private transportation they could use both their native language and service. One teacher linked transportation English (e.g., local ethnic markets). Another site challenges to administrative support more worked with a local workforce development generally. Frustrated with the district’s delays in organization to identify possible placements for developing an appropriate travel release form, she English language learners. said, “For something to be created, you need a system supporting that, and this system isn’t even Spotlight: Pittsfield and Taconic aware of what we’re doing. So we don’t have enough district support to create an effective High Schools program as quickly as it needs to be created.” Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School, Securing enough quality work-based learning sites located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, offer three was difficult for several schools. One rural school graduation pathways: arts and sciences, reported the lack of local employers as an vocational, and work-based learning. In the work- obstacle. The coordinator of another program based learning pathway, students receive both emphasized that the need for a mentor at the host credit and pay for work placements that they site led some potential sites to see it as an identify either themselves or with support from imposition. When she approaches some potential the schools’ work-based learning coordinator. mentors they “look at [her] like, ‘Are you serious? They must spend at least fifteen hours per week at Like I really need another thing to do?’” Legal their placements. Participating students leave issues and competition with other internship school up to three periods early, although their programs in the same area can also make it placements do not need to take place during difficult to obtain certain types of internships. One school hours. Learning academic skills is not a of the schools with a more established work-based required part of the placement. The schools want learning program reported that much of the “low students to learn workplace skills such as dressing hanging fruit” in terms of available work-based appropriately, showing up on time, and working learning sites had already been picked, leading to cooperatively, among others, and they believe that a greater level of challenge in identifying new students can do that at any paid job. opportunities. Another challenge at some sites was the quality and quantity of work available to Students take a full academic course schedule students. Some students reported not being given until they have a placement, and then they enough meaningful work, receiving only transition into the alternative schedule. During the repetitive, low-level tasks, or having the site run 2013–14 school year, the schools began requiring out of tasks for them to do. students to be passing at least five out of seven courses at the end of a quarter to be eligible for A lack of workplace readiness skills presented work-based learning placements the following challenges for some students and sites. These quarter. This was in response to some students skills included arriving on time, calling in to who had been succeeding in their placements but report an absence, being absent too often, falling short of the credits needed for graduation. following directions, asking for work when idle, or behaving appropriately for a professional The work-based learning graduation pathway setting. Some students also became dissatisfied existed prior to MassGrad, but MassGrad funds with their internships quickly and wanted to leave enabled supports such as bus passes and the prematurely. Some schools offered classes on creation of new marketing tools such as brochures workplace skills, and some students learned these for employer engagement. Previously, students skills as part of their work-based learning had been required to arrange their own experiences. Solutions to some of these challenges transportation, which had been a barrier to the 5 program’s success. The MassGrad award also learning and work-based learning activities is supported teacher stipends that permitted the available in a case study of the programs in North program to continue during eight weeks of the Adams that were funded through their MassGrad summer. Some students who were in the Implementation Award. vocational pathway but did not receive their desired vocational placement transitioned to the Footnotes work-based learning pathway. School staff said that being able to get credit and pay for participating in authentic work settings prevented 1. The five summary briefs will be accessible some students from dropping out of high school. through a subpage of They also reported that students’ attendance and http://www.doe.mass.edu/ccr. grades improved while they were doing work- 2. MassGrad Implementation Awards case study: based learning. Drury High School, North Adams, Massachusetts. (2015). Hadley, MA: Spotlight: E3 Academy University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute. E3 Academy in North Adams, Massachusetts, is http://www.doe.mass.edu/ccr/massgrad/CaseS part of the North Adams public school district. It tudy-NorthAdams.pdf is a small, alternative program that serves over- 3. http://www.skillslibrary.com/wbl.htm. aged, under-credited students who are at very high risk for dropout. Students participate in extensive service-learning projects, both to deepen their academic learning and to practice workplace skills in the comparatively sheltered environment of their program before engaging in more in-depth internships. These projects also give teachers the opportunity to assess the students’ readiness for internships in more authentic work environments. Acknowledgments

During one trimester, the program’s academic The contents of this report were developed by the work across multiple disciplines was focused on a University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute in local river. The program worked with a local non- collaboration with the Massachusetts Department profit that is focused on river conservation and of Elementary and Secondary Education. We revitalization activities, and together they built a thank the following Implementation Award trail along the river. The teacher reported that the schools with service and work-based learning work was physically demanding, and that the programs that participated in the MassGrad students were excited at first but became less so evaluation: Attleboro High School, Boston Adult after a few weeks. The local department of public Technical Academy, Boston Day and Evening works removed multiple dump-truck loads of Academy, Champion High School (Brockton), invasive plants that the students had spent days Charlestown High School (Boston), Drury High pulling out of the river, and the students were School (North Adams), Edison Academy excited to see the large machinery needed to (Brockton), Malden High School, Pittsfield High support their efforts. The experience ended with a School, Quabbin Regional High School, and community celebration that was attended by the Taconic High School (Pittsfield). mayor and reported in the local press. Grant funding was provided by the U.S. The program coordinator said the students learned Department of Education. The contents do not that perseverance results in success and rewards, necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. and that the service-learning activities helped Department of Education, and readers should not students to develop a stronger work ethic, see the assume endorsement by the Federal Government. higher purposes of work, and understand that they are capable of filling community needs. She also said that doing the service-learning projects “engages the kids, makes the learning feel more meaningful, and helps them engage with their peers in a much more productive, positive way than they typically have in the past—so they’re more excited about coming to school.” More detailed information about E3 Academy’s service- 6 7